Worlds of What If: A Series of Video Game Alternate Histories

[Salnax]

Mr Khan said:

Salnax said:
Okay, so far I've got a basic outline for generation 5 without Sony being in the console market. It's not pretty. The Saturn and N64 sell a combined 90 to 95 million units, less than our timeline's PSone all by itself.

In retrospect, Sony entering the industry was a great thing, if only because they made less crazy decisions than Sega and Nintendo generation 5 and provided resources and advertising for big games like Gran Turismo, Ridge Racer, Namco Fighters, Twisted Metal, Crash Bandicoot, Final Fantasy, and Spyro.

Anyway, I'm thinking the Xbox becomes the new PSone in terms of making a breakthrough for Western console gaming. It had the horsepower, the price, and the killer apps. Especially since it would have been the only 6th generation console capable of playing Grand Theft Auto.

Would Microsoft have given enough of a damn to enter the market, though? They saw Sony as a threat, coming from the living room with their "Computer Entertainment System," and so made the Xbox to fight that threat on their terms (with the 360 more made as Microsoft's counterattack to try to really rule the living room of their own accord)

A good point. In fact, that brings up another thought: would any company try to enter a market that seemed to be the sole province of Sega and Nintendo?

 

Some companies to note:

*Atari's Jaguar didn't actually do that badly until 1995, when competition with the Saturn and especially the PlayStation grew too tough. Could it have survived at least a little longer if the PSone never existed and the Saturn came out a few months later? It had a few early major hits like PC ports, Rayman, and Alien vs Predator.

*SNK did pretty well with the original Neo Geo, despite its niche appeal. The brand survived into the 2000's. Could the Neo Geo CD or 64 have been a sucess? Or, alternatively, could the original Neo Geo have been redesigned as an affordable home console by around 1994 or so? Popular franchises on the system would have included several fighting game franchises and Metal Slug.

*NEC's PC-FX was only released in Japan, but it was the follow-up of the popular TurboGrafx-16. It lasted from 1994 to 1998, and had dozens of games.

*Apple released the Pippin in 1995, and it was discontinued in 1997. Not exactly great, but would Apple be willing to push into the console market again afterwards?